The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said on the 3rd they have finalized the selection of six secondary payload satellites to be carried on the sixth launch of Nuri, scheduled for 2027.
The selected secondary payloads total six satellites based on the CubeSat standard: one 3U, four 6U, and one 27U. Each will carry out various missions, including environmental monitoring, cybersecurity verification, defense education, experiments with artificial intelligence (AI)-based autonomous flight technology, and preliminary studies for deep-space exploration. One U is a unit indicating CubeSat size, referring to dimensions of 10 cm in width, length, and height.
For the 3U CubeSat, Suncheon City's "SuncheonSat-1" was selected. The satellite will photograph the Suncheonman National Garden and wetlands to analyze ecological changes, while also being used to verify the performance of space components developed by local corporations.
A total of four 6U CubeSats will be carried. The National Security Research Institute's "K-STAR" will undertake missions to test and verify technologies responding to cybersecurity threats that may arise in space. The Air Force Academy's "KAFASAT-2" will be used in cadet education by building up design and development technologies for ultra-small satellites. Gwangju City's "GAIMSat-1" aims to secure AI-based onboard data processing technology and verify autonomous flight algorithms. Kookmin University's "KMU ET-02" will detect disaster risks early by analyzing forest species, vegetation, and moisture conditions, and will also contribute to training professionals in the space and AI fields.
For the large 27U-class CubeSat, KARI's "deep-space exploration demonstrator" was selected. Using low-thrust propulsion, the satellite will change its orbit from low Earth orbit to a geosynchronous orbit (GSO, altitude about 36,000 km), and it plans to pre-verify core technologies for future deep-space exploration, including imaging of the moon and the asteroid Apophis.
The call for proposals ran from Sept. 22 to Oct. 24 for industry, universities, research institutes, government agencies, and local governments, and the final payloads were decided through expert evaluations that comprehensively reviewed public interest, technical merit, and mission feasibility.
The sixth Nuri launch will carry five primary payload satellites—ultra-small cluster satellites Nos. 7–11—along with the six CubeSats selected this time, KARI's domestically developed device and component verification satellite No. 3, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Satellite Technology Research Center's "Active Debris Removal Satellite (ADRSat)." A total of 13 satellites will be launched simultaneously to carry out various experimental missions.
Park Jae-seong, head of space transportation at the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), said, "Among the proposed satellites, we prioritized those that can contribute to public-interest purposes such as disaster and hazard response, environmental monitoring, national land management, and talent cultivation," adding, "We will work closely with the selected organizations to ensure thorough preparations for the launch."